Maryland State Wire

Following a discovery in July that found Maryland election software had ties to a Russian investor, Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) are pushing for language that would require disclosure if any state election vendors could have control under or are owned by a foreign national.

On Aug. 20, Cardin and Van Hollen composed a letter from Chairman of Committee on Rules and Administration Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) making their request, with additional pressure being put on the request due to the fact that the elections are only several months away.

"As your committee prepares to markup the Secure Elections Act, we request you include a requirement in the legislation to mandate disclosure of foreign ownership information by elections infrastructure vendors," the senators wrote.

The letter then recounted the incident that was discovered by the FBI in which the Maryland State Board of Elections was briefed about a vendor that had been used by numerous election systems, ByteGrid LLC. According to the letter, ByteGrid failed to state that it was financed by AltPoint Capital Partners, an entity whose fund manager and largest investor is Vladimir Potanin, a Russian.

The request made by the senators is a bipartisan one and is backed by the governor, as well as state legislative leaders; additional help has been requested from the Department of Homeland Security. 

"Specifically, DHS should assist the State of Maryland in evaluating network security, auditing network integrity, and providing additional support and services deemed necessary and appropriate by the Board," the senators wrote.

Cardin and Van Hollen explained that they have also requested help from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in his role as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to review the acquisition of ByteGrid.

CFIUS has been given the authority to review transactions and investments in elections infrastructure.

"While we are hopeful that the Treasury Department's review will be able to provide additional information about this specific transaction, we are concerned about the implications of the case for elections across the country," the senators wrote.

The letter noted the Intelligence Community's agreement that the 2016 elections were tampered with by Russia and stated that very precaution must be taken by all levels of government to ensure that elections remain free and fair. 

"American elections are a hallmark of our democratic system and a cornerstone of the rule of law," the senators wrote. "Access to these systems by a foreign government could provide information for intelligence or other purposes adverse to U.S. national security interests."

On Aug. 22, the Senate Rules Committee postponed the meeting in which members were planning to discuss the Secure Elections Act, according to nextgov.com.

A White House spokesperson stated that the Act was unnecessary as the Department of Homeland Security already has statutory authority to assist in both state and local issues, according to www.newsok.com.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) has stated that the White House is not opposed to the Act but that they do have questions they will try to answer before it goes to the floor.